Sirach 43:11-26

New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised

¹¹ Look at the rainbow, and praise him who made it;
    it is exceedingly beautiful in its brightness.
¹² It encircles the sky with its glorious arc;
    the hands of the Most High have stretched it out.

¹³ By his command he sends the driving snow
    and speeds the lightnings of his judgement.
¹⁴ Therefore the storehouses are opened,
    and the clouds fly out like birds.
¹⁵ In his majesty he gives the clouds their strength,
    and the hailstones are broken in pieces.
^17a The voice of his thunder rebukes the earth;
¹⁶     when he appears, the mountains shake.
At his will the south wind blows;
^17b     so do the storm from the north and the whirlwind.
He scatters the snow like birds flying down,
    and its descent is like locusts alighting.
¹⁸ The eye is dazzled by the beauty of its whiteness,
    and the mind is amazed as it falls.
¹⁹ He pours frost over the earth like salt,
    and icicles form like pointed thorns.
²⁰ The cold north wind blows,
    and ice freezes on the water;
it settles on every pool of water,
    and the water puts it on like a breastplate.
²¹ He consumes the mountains and burns up the wilderness,
    and withers the tender grass like fire.
²² A mist quickly heals all things;
    the falling dew gives refreshment from the heat.